


New Paradise

by RandomTiings



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Belligerent Sexual Tension, Bottom Eren Yeager, Dominant Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Dorms, Enemies to Lovers, Flustered Eren Yeager, Hange Zoë Ships It, High School, Horny Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Horny Teenagers, M/M, Minor Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, POV Eren Yeager, Poor Eren Yeager, Rich Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Romance, Roommates, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Smut, Teenagers, Thirsty Eren Yeager, Top Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Vanilla
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:21:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28229079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomTiings/pseuds/RandomTiings
Summary: When Eren is expelled from his school for fighting, he expects to become yet another high-school dropout destined to live in the shithole that is the city of Maria for the rest of his life; He doesn’t expect a second chance, and he certainly doesn’t expect that second chance to be an enrollment to a prestigious high school in Sina, a rich city he could only dream of ever making it to before.OR the fic where Eren and Levi are dormmates and hate eachother (until they don't.)
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 18
Kudos: 63





	1. Arrival

_ “This is your fifth fight. We aren’t even halfway through the school year. Do you understand what this means?” _

__ _ Eren stared forward at the principal with a furrowed brow and challenging expression, arms crossed over his stomach as he leaned back in his chair. _

__ _ The principal opened a cabinet in his desk, sorting through papers with a heavy silence drawn over the room until he seemed to find what he was looking for. He pulled the document from the cabinet and laid it onto the desk, staring at Eren for a moment before sliding the paper towards him. “It means that you’re expelled, Yeager.” _

The drive home was awfully quiet, not one of the three teenagers in the car daring to speak. While he could see Armin was worried based off the way he was bouncing his knee up and down in his seat, Mikasa had a stone-cold expression, the only sign of her anger being the iron grip she had on the steering wheel as she drove.

Eren stared out the window with a nonchalant expression as if he hadn’t just thrown away any chance at a future he previously had, observing all the cheap, shitty buildings that they drove past as if they’d tell him the magical secret to fixing up his stupid fucking life. Unfortunately for him, it seemed the buildings were keen on keeping their secrets, so he instead closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. 

He couldn’t even blame it on Jean this time. He had known damn well what would happen when he swung his fist at that stupid horseface, not that it made any difference to his terrible impulse control. He hoped that stupid dickhead got at least suspended.

His eyes drifted open again as the car pulled into the parking lot of their apartment. Their beautiful, amazing apartment with its dirty, shittily-plastered-together brick exterior and the crackhead sitting on the side of the parking lot with a half-smoked blunt in hand.

Mikasa got out of the car wordlessly, throwing the car door shut behind her a bit too harshly. Armin didn’t seem to notice they had stopped until a moment later, his attention snapping up to the already walking away Mikasa. Armin fumbled with the door on his way out, closing it behind him and following Mikasa as if she’d leave him behind forever if he didn’t stay close enough to her.

Eren felt irritation bubble up underneath his skin and he took a small breath, knowing he was going to get into one of those i’m-going-to-explode-over-every-little-annoying-thing-you-do moods if he kept it up. And he knew that he was the last person who had the right to be angry in the house right now.

He stepped out of the car and followed after the two, stepping over a dirty needle on his way over. Eren allowed himself to trail behind them a bit. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be too close to Mikasa right now. Mikasa was scary when she was fuming, but dead-silent Mikasa was another level of terrifying. And this was definitely an extreme case of dead-silent Mikasa.

They walked up a flight of dusty concrete stairs to the second floor, where Mikasa led them down the short hallway and to their trusty apartment door. Eren was pretty sure it was rotting internally. By the time Mikasa had found her keys in her pockets, Eren had caught up with her and Armin and was lingering behind them. Armin glanced behind his shoulder towards him, giving him a nervous, anxiety-ridden smile that was probably meant to be reassuring. 

Mikasa opened the apartment door and glanced behind her towards Eren, no emotion discernable in her eyes before looking back towards the entrance and strolling in. He heard the faint sound of her plopping down on the couch as he walked in.

It was a small, open design. The kitchen was awkwardly placed so that you were walking into it if you took more than four steps forward, the only way to the living room being an awkwardly sharp turn from the doorway to the couch. Eren had bumped his hip into the kitchen counters too many times when forgetting about that turn. In the other direction was two bedrooms and one bathroom (which smelled like shit no matter how much they cleaned it.) Predictably, he shared a room with Armin. Mikasa got her own, as both the oldest child and the only girl in the house. There was no dining room, but sitting on the kitchen counters sufficed well enough. The couch worked as a makeshift dining room too. There was just enough room on the small coffee table between the television and couch for three paper plates, making it the perfect spot for eating.

Those 150$ dollar checks a month Grisha sent them sure got them in a great place. Thank god for his contribution to the household- With his money and funds from Mikasa’s job combined, they had a whole 25 bucks a month to spare. For such a shithole of a place, the landlords sure did like collecting some nice amounts of money, didn’t they? Too bad it was the only apartment in the school zone that was both within their budget and not serving as a crack house on the side.

Eren hopped onto one of the kitchen counters, sitting on it with a slumped back, legs absentmindedly kicking back and forth slowly.

Now that Eren didn’t have any school to go to, he was sure he could pick up a full-time job as a burger flipper and help out with money. Not that they would be in this situation for long. Armin was a borderline prodigy and Mikasa wasn’t anywhere close to stupid either; Not to mention her incredible physical strength and skill in every sport she tried. If there was anyone who could get them in a better place, it was…

Well, anyone in the house other than Eren, really. He was a little blob of anger who’s only talent was getting pissed off at the smallest remarks. He wasn’t a bright student by any means and passed with grades that were just enough not to be held back every year; He had a nice body, sure, but this wasn’t from hard work or vigorous physical activity like in Mikasa’s case. He just got lucky with the genetic lottery. 

Mikasa spoke up in a flat voice, interrupting his thoughts. “I hope you aren’t thinking of becoming a stripper or anything crazy, Eren.” She was staring at him from the couch, expression unreadable. Armin looked up from his book, which he had been reading sat on the opposite counter from Eren. Hm… a stripper... Maybe he _ could _ become a stripper. Did male strippers make bank?

“You fucked up pretty bad.” She was blunt with her words, but it wasn’t anything Eren didn’t already know. “But you’ll be fine. We’re gonna live. You can get a part-time job and we’ll find a way for you to learn the rest of high school somehow.”

Armin pepped up before Eren could respond. “Yeah! I can help you with school when I get home every day. Teach you the most important stuff we learned and all that.” Armin was a good teacher and somehow managed to help him understand concepts he would struggle with for weeks in mere minutes. He was the sole reason Eren was- or had been- passing school. If he was going to keep up with his education, Armin would really be the best solution.

Eren glanced from Armin back to Mikasa and then let his gaze fall down to the floor. He was such a stupid fucking shithead. The two of them already had so much on their plates. Great job, Eren, giving them another thing to fucking stress about. God damn it.

He looked back up to them, nodding his head. “Yeah.” The words fell from his lips in such a stale tone that it almost sounded sarcastic, so he cleared his throat and spoke up again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t… y’know.” He paused again. He didn’t… what? Mean to? No, he definitely meant it when he punched Jean in the face. He definitely knew the consequences. He just didn’t fucking think. At all. Ever. “Sorry.”

Mikasa stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and looking away, flicking on the TV without responding. Armin lingered for a moment before grabbing his textbook and heading into their room, leaving Eren to sit on the kitchen counter. He watched the television from a distance for a few minutes. It was some shitty drama that Mikasa liked watching. They both knew it was absolute shit, but it was a distraction and something for Mikasa to focus on other than rent, school, and working. It also conveniently aired the time between them all getting home from school and the time where Mikasa left for work. 

Eventually, Eren slid off the counter and headed into his and Armin’s room. He was tired, and some sleep didn’t sound too bad, even if it was only 6. It was the last day of the month today, and they tended to run out of food the last week or so of a rough month. This was one of those rough months- He had torn his gym uniform and had ended up needing a new one, leaving the three of them functioning off of their mystery-meat burgers from school every day for the last week and nothing else. They’d get the monthly check from Grisha in the mail tomorrow or the day after that, but for now he’d be having sleep for dinner. 

Mikasa and him had good pain tolerance, but he could remember the days before Mikasa got a job being especially rough on Armin. He would lay writhing in bed unable to sleep from the hunger pains, sometimes even breaking down crying in the middle of the night. How old were they back then? Grisha had left when Eren and Armin were 10 and Mikasa was 12. For that first year they lived alone in a different shitty little apartment that they got evicted from for not paying up on rent (Mikasa wasn’t as good with budgeting that first year,) but after Armin’s grandfather died he joined them in the our-parents-are-all-dead-or-absent squad and they moved into this new shithole. Eren had known Armin for as long as he had known Mikasa- They had all met when they were eight, so it wasn’t too much of a shock or change when Armin came to live with them.

Eren walked into the room, Armin glancing up and giving him a friendly smile before looking back to the phone in his hands. The room had faded yellow (kinda greenish, to be honest) paint that was chipping away and concrete floors like the rest of the house. There were two single beds on either side of the room and a nightstand next to each. Eren flicked off the light on his way in, not hesitating to throw himself onto his bed, the impressively loud creak of the bed probably announcing his presence to the whole apartment complex. 

He burrowed into his warm blankets. It wasn’t cold out by any means, but he still appreciated the extra warmth wrapped around his body. Considering how tired he was, he was pretty sure he would’ve been satisfied with even a pile of rocks to sleep on.

Eren closed his eyes, and the only thing stopping him from drifting to sleep immediately was the sound of Armin typing out some message on his phone. That sound continued long throughout the night, until the sound grew fuzzy and quieter in Eren’s ears and he was finally asleep, any thoughts or worries from the day drifting away, even if only for a few hours.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

When Eren woke up the next day it was early- Early to the point where the sky was just barely starting to get lighter. He was up before Armin, for once. He stared up at the ceiling with blurry vision, eventually reaching down to rub his eyes and sitting up.

Eren stretched in his bed, lacing his fingers together and pushing them outwards to crack his knuckles. The satisfying pop was always worth the little sting he would feel on his hands afterwards.

He stood, trying to be light on his feet so as to not disturb Armin’s rest with his creaky bed, managing to get off with only a quiet whimper of a squeak from his bed. He peeked into Mikasa’s bed, but she was already gone. She probably received the check from Grisha a day early or something and was out shopping already, before school started.

He turned back around and dragged himself to the kitchen to make himself a bowl of cereal, but he had forgotten of their predicament. His stomach seemed to twist in resistance to this situation, but it was what it was. He hauled himself onto the counter instead to rest, almost falling asleep before his eyes fluttered back open at the sound of light footsteps.

A drowsy Armin had one pillow tucked beneath his arm still, yawning with his phone in the other. He sat on the counter across from Eren, greeting him with an uneven voice from just having woken up. “Morning, Eren.”

“Morning,” he murmured. Armin seemed to be looking for something on his phone, but Eren didn’t pay much attention to it. He allowed his eyes to drift closed once again. His eyebrows furrowed, however, when he heard a sharp intake of breath coming from his best friend.

“Holy… shit,” he heard Armin whisper.

“What is it, Armin?” He mumbled, still sitting at the kitchen counter with the energy of a sloth in a coma.

“Have you ever heard of CORPS?” Armin sounded awestruck as he spoke, Eren opening his eyes to see the blonde blinking quickly. As if he were trying to get a piece of dust from out of his eye or something along the lies.

“CORPS?” He mumbled, and Armin took that as a no.

“Circumstantial Opportunities for Re-education of Priority Students!” The words gushed from Armin’s mouth as if they were the greatest words in the world, and the small boy’s enthusiasm started shining. He got excited like nobody else Eren knew sometimes.

“That’s a stupid ass acronym,” Eren said a bit more clearly as he sat up straighter, stretching with a yawn. “Is it s’post to mean something to me?”

“Well, it’s a program run by New Paradise up in Sina.” Eren perked up at this- In Sina? That was the nicest city around, rivaled only by Marley- It was small, but it was where important people making big cash lived. There were people down where they lived, in Maria, that really would kill for a chance to live in Sina. “It’s a program that takes in low income or disadvantaged children to attend New Paradise high school. In Sina,” Armin reminded him one more time. “Especially those who have a bad track record.”

“And why is this got you so excited?”

“Well, I may have filled out an application for CORPS last night.” Eren hung onto Armin’s words, eyes widening a bit. Armin had a grin on his face that told him everything he needed to know about how the application process went.

“That’s- That’s...holy shit… Did you get accepted? Or was it Mikasa!?” Eren asked incredulously, the haziness of just waking up beginning to clear as the cogs in his brain started turning. This was amazing- Armin would get a better education, have more opportunities to grow, and definitely be spotted by a great college in Sina, and if it was Mikasa they’d see her athletic abilities and definitely get scouted for a team-

“No, Eren. I didn’t fill it out for me- I filled it out for you!”

Eren’s thoughts came to a sharp halt as he stared at Armin with an open mouth. He blinked slowly. For… him? The dumbest, most useless person in the house who shouldn’t even be able to get a pity scholarship? The one who got expelled from his high school for getting into fights every week like some delinquent? Not the brilliant Armin Arlet, the child prodigy in every subject. Not the incredible Mikasa Ackerman, the highly intelligent star athlete that could probably dominate the men’s leagues. No, neither of them- him, the good-for-nothing troublemaker of the family? Eren Yeager?

“I… got accepted?” Eren asked numbly. Armin’s grin was all he needed as confirmation, but it didn’t make him understand any more than he already did.

“How… Why did you not submit an application for yourself and Mikasa?” This question made Armin pause.

“I… I did. But I think they’re, uh…” Armin scratched the back of his neck, biting his lip. “Um. Well.”

Eren raised an eyebrow. “C’mon. I won’t get mad.”

“I think they’re looking for a kid who are. You know. At rock bottom. With no promising future at all.” Armin said this sheepishly, and Eren winced.

“Yeah, I guess I do fit that description,” he muttered.

“So, are you going to?” 

“What do you mean?”

“Will you go to New Paradise?”

Even though his mind wanted him to desperately slow down and take a minute to think, Eren responded nearly immediately. “Yes.”

That’s all it took for Armin to break out in a large grin. Eren could’ve sworn the boy’s eyes were tearing up as he lunged forward and nearly tackled Eren with a hug, almost sending them both stumbling off the counter, but he didn’t mind at all, instead laughing with Armin.

God bless Armin and the wonderful things he  _ always _ managed to make happen. For once, there was something for Eren to look forward to, and that ‘something’ happened to be a high school in  _ motherfucking Sina.  _

He wouldn’t be a high school dropout after all.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

Skyscrapers. Huge ass skyscrapers that really did scrape the sky. He was pretty sure a few of them jutted through clouds, in their amazing and honestly kind of intimidating height. They were almost all glass, too; Eren had seen such buildings in movies, but seeing them in person and  _ up close _ was so much different. They had just passed into Sina a few minutes ago, having had to drive through three hours of Rose in order to get to Sina. They had considered a flight, but it was too expensive, so here they were, with a blanket or two piled in the backseat of the car and a few pillows strewn around. They even spent money on two bags of chips and three water bottles for the car ride.

Armin stared outside with the same awe as Eren, hands pressed up to the glass and eyes glittering in the way they always did when Armin was excited by something. Even Mikasa seemed to be enjoying the ride, her gaze sometimes catching on an especially large tower as she drove. They were seriously in motherfuckin’ Sina right now.

“If you get your ass thrown out of New Paradise I might just beat the shit out of you, okay?” Mikasa spoke up with a humorous tone to her voice, but Eren didn’t doubt it was partially true. Maybe she wouldn’t beat his ass, but she sure would lay on some form of punishment thick. Then again, it was hard to come up with good punishments in a household devoid of luxuries to take away.

Eren paused, eyebrows furrowing slightly. “I won’t.” Mikasa stared at him in the rear-view mirror, and he met her gaze with a steeled determination. “I promise.” He wasn’t going to be a delinquent high-school dropout. No- He’d graduate from New Paradise with at least passing grades and get a job somewhere good. His promise seemed to be enough reassurance for Mikasa, the edge of her lips tugging up in a small smile as looked back to the road.

“I’ve seen the pictures and movies and all, but...” Armin stared out the window with wide eyes for another second before looking over to Eren. “This is… amazing! Don’t you think!?”

Eren paused and cast another glance out the window, where all the huge skyscrapers towered above them. He was pretty sure he had watched a movie with a scene shot outside of one of the skyscrapers they just passed.

He grinned. “It’s absolutely fucking amazing, Armin.”

That seemed to be enough of an answer to excite Armin more, who turned back to his window to stare at the city. Guilt curled in his stomach. He really shouldn’t be the one going to school here. If anyone out of the three of them, it should’ve been Armin that got chosen.

“We’re almost there,” Mikasa called, glancing behind her shoulder to Eren. “Run a brush through your hair. You look like you just rolled out of bed.”

Eren rolled his eyes with a huff of breath, digging through the blankets on the car floor to finally find a brush there. He raked it through his hair hastily before throwing it to the side.

“Eren, you remember everything we went over, right?” Armin asked, a smile tugging at Eren’s lips at his friend’s needless worrying.

“Mhm.”

Mikasa went ahead and recited what they had talked about anyways. “No grades lower than a C. Aim for B’s. Do all your homework. Do not get in fights. Do not skip school. Do not be snarky with teachers. Do not-” Mikasa droned on, but Erens attention shifted elsewhere, his breath hitching in his throat.

There it was. He could see it- New Paradise.

Armin seemed to have noticed the same thing, his eyes wide and mouth forming a small ‘o’ as he stared ahead at the school. It was still a fair distance away, but holy shit did it look  _ good.  _

A huge white building that looked to be two stories tall was surrounded by a large black iron fence with the gates wide open; the building had large windows that were tinted so nothing could be seen inside, and large stairs led up to the academy’s large glass doors. The fence continued along the back to a huge field that was what Eren assumed to be for football, but he couldn’t see anything else with the school blocking their view. The schoolyard in front of the academy had a gray brick flooring with black benches littered around. Another two buildings sat on either side of the school facing one another- They were the same size as one another, much smaller than the school building but still two stories. Dorms, he assumed. Students were clustered in the schoolyard, some leaving the campus and others heading into one of the three buildings. 

The three of them had fallen silent in awe, Mikasa’s hand on the driving wheel loose. It was a struggle to not drop everything to stare at this god damn beautiful school.

And that’s when it hit him. He would be going to  _ that _ school. That beautiful goddamn school that had the smartest and richest kids around enrolled. That goddamn beautiful school that was in fucking  _ Sina  _ with the kids who had monthly allowances that were more than what Eren, Mikasa and Armin made in a year combined. 

He felt himself freeze as anxiety began pulsing through him. He would be here for the next three years. He would live here and learn here. He wouldn’t be able to keep up. He wouldn’t be able to keep his grades. He wouldn’t be able to control his impulses. He couldn’t-

“Eren.”

Mikasa’s voice was soft. “Stop worrying. You’re going to do fine. All you need to do is graduate. You don’t need to get amazing marks and be a star student.”

Eren glanced over to Mikasa and Armin and then back to the school. He could see them fitting into there. He could see them being popular and well-liked. Two kids from Maria with stunning talent who overcame their disadvantages to get all the way into Sina.

He couldn’t say the same for him. A hot-headed punk from Maria who got here on a pity scholarship and nothing else. A hot-headed punk who did  _ not  _ deserve to be here in the slightest. He hadn’t even been the one to fill out the damn application.

Eren gave Mikasa a weak smile, his heart beating quickly in his chest. He wasn’t one to get anxious. Usually Armin was the one to have strong enough nerves for the three of them- But right now he couldn’t think through the thoughts racing in his head, and he didn’t realize they had pulled into the school’s parking lot until the vehicle came to a stop.

The car was silent for a minute, each teenager lost in their own thoughts about the situation. Armin was the one to break the silence.

“Eren…” The blonde fell silent for another moment. “Do your best.”

It had been a seven hour drive to get from their home to Maria, through Rose, and all the way to New Paradise in Sina. Eren hadn’t thought of what he’d do once he was here once in that entire time, so instead he chose to stay silent for another minute.

“I will.” Eren finally answered. He took a deep breath as he steeled his resolve. He was going to enroll in this school. He was going to deal with the snobby Sina kids without getting into fights. He was going to pass his classes. 

“Make sure to call us whenever you can. Okay?” Mikasa sounded almost unsure. She was always certain in the choices she made, so this was unusual- But Eren could understand why. The three of them hadn’t been apart from one another for more than a day since they were in middle school. The thought of being away from them- his family- for so long made him want to tell Mikasa to turn around and drive home.

Eren offered her a smile instead, this time with a confidence that he pulled from god-knows-where. “I will.” He grabbed his backpack from the floor of the car and opened the door, stepping out as if he knew what the fuck he was doing.

“Don’t miss me too much, alright?” Eren teased, getting an amused eye roll from Mikasa and a nod from Armin. “I’ll visit on weekends and stuff. I promise,” he added in a more sincere tone.

“...Be safe, okay?” Armin said with a small smile.

“Don’t get into trouble,” Mikasa added.

“I won’t,” Eren promised. 

There was a short silence. What were you supposed to say to the people you spent your entire life with now that you were leaving for three years? No words could really cover what Eren wanted to say, and he had the feeling it was the same for the rest of his family. He’d see them at least every month anyways- It wasn’t like he was pulling a Grisha here, though part of him did feel dirty for leaving them.

“I… I guess I should head out now. You both stay safe too. I’ll see you guys later, okay?” Eren gave them one last wave before turning around and staring up at New Paradise. Part of him wanted to turn around and say goodbye again, but he knew he’d never be able to drag himself away from the two of them if he did. Instead, he began walking towards the doors of the school, and was faintly aware of the sound of Mikasa pulling out of the parking lot when he made it to the school gates.

The school seemed even bigger when he was standing in front of it, along with the two dorm buildings on either side of him. It was a Sunday; He assumed that’s why kids were streaming in and out of the campus, between the dorm buildings and school in what was basically herds of kids.

He tugged at the straps of his backpack as he began walking forward again, each step feeling heavier than usual. This was an amazing opportunity, but he couldn’t deny that he wasn’t looking forward to class with clumps of stuck-up Sina kids. Stuck-up Sina kids who were, mind him, probably dozens of times more talented than he was.

Eren pushed open the glass doors, forcing any hesitation he had away as he walked into the school. The floor was made of light, tan-tinted tiles and the walls were painted white. It looked… well, fancy, but he didn’t know what else he expected from Sina. It was hard not to pause and take a second to simply absorb his surroundings as he walked through the main hall. Several corridors branched off it, and there was a large stairwell in the middle that led to the second floor.

Students paid no attention to Eren as they passed, at most getting a glance or two from passing kids as he headed forward through clusters of kids. He had known it was a big school, but it really was busier than he had anticipated. It was when Eren was passing the stairwell that he realized he had no clue what he was doing.

Eren turned around, eyes scanning for any sort of map to help him around. There had to be a school map somewhere. He could find the principal’s office and get all settled in, right?

“Hey! Kid!” A voice called, and Eren quickly turned right as an older girl- a senior?- tapped his shoulder. She had a large grin on her face and wore thick glasses, dark brown hair pulled into a high, short ponytail. A fourth year? 

“You’re new, aren’t you?!” Eren opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted when she threw an arm around his shoulder, near dragging him with her as Eren stumbled to keep up. “C’mere! I’ll help you around!”

“Uh- I’m-”

“What’s your name, kiddo? You look like a first year to me at first, but up close you look like a second year. You here on a CORPS scholarship? I am too!”

The girl barraged him with questions and statements, Eren’s head beginning to spin as he tried to keep up with both her fast pace and her fast mouth.

“You only have one backpack for all your stuff? Probably from Maria then, huh? Welcome to New Paradise! You’ll like it here, kiddo. What was your name agai-”   
  


“E-Eren!” He spoke up, stuttering amidst his confusion. “Eren Yeager. I’m from Maria. And, um, I’m here for CORPS. I’m a second year.”

The girl laughed at his response, giving him a wide, friendly grin. “I’m Hange! Hange Zoe, from Rose. You look nervous, Eren, kiddo. Brighten up a bit!”

“Kinda hard not to be a little nervous when you’re dragging me around by the neck,” Eren grumbled. Hange paused and for a split-second he was afraid he was about to get his ass beat on his first day- These worries vanished when she erupted into an almost explosive fit of laughter. With all the energy she seemed to have Eren couldn’t help but wonder if she got fed gallons of coffee a day via IV line or something.

“You’re funny! You got some spunk, kiddo! And, you know, I know a guy who you’d be  _ great  _ friends with!”

This piqued Eren’s interest, who looked up at her as they walked. “Who?”

“Listen closely, okay? When Mister Sir Pixis here asks you if you have any rooming requests, say that you want to dorm with Levi, okay? Le-vi Ack-er-man.” She sounded out each syllable in his name. Eren opened his mouth to respond but was borderline shoved forward by Hange- He hadn’t even realized they had arrived outside a door until she opened it for him, gesturing him inside.

“I found a new student, Mister Pixis, Sir!” Hange called with a grin, and Eren glanced back at Hange before turning around and heading into the office. He shut the door behind himself softly. There was an older man sitting in front of him at a desk who Eren assumed was the principal- He had deep wrinkles under his eyes and a gray mustache, but his eyes twinkled with a young sort of mischief.

“I’m, uh. Eren. Yeager. Nice to meet you.” He cursed himself internally for how god damn  _ awkward  _ he sounded. Eren took a seat on the other side of the desk the old man sat at, shifting in the chair a bit nervously.

“Nice to meet you as well. I see you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Hange,” he mused. “Did she put you up to anything?”

Eren blinked, remembering her odd suggestion to him. He decided he’d bring it up when they were sorting out dorming, though. “Uh… No. I don’t think so.”

The principal let out an amused huff of air. “Well, Yeager, welcome to New Paradise. I assume you are familiar with the program that brought you here?”

“Yeah. CORPS.” Eren nodded.

“We don’t have any intense requirements for CORPS students. The only conditions are that you pass your classes and don’t get suspended or expelled, Mister Yeager. I hope you will make the best of this opportunity.” 

Eren blinked, catching on to the sharp edge to those words. Right. He had forgotten the entire reason he was here in the first place. “Yes, sir,” Eren mumbled, hands lacing together on his lap. 

“As you are aware, we have dorms available for students who would so wish to live in them. As your main residence is in Maria, I assume you would be living on campus.” When Eren nodded, Pixis continued on. “Do you have any rooming requests, Mister Yeager?”

Eren paused. He didn’t know if Hange was exactly trustworthy. But… But honestly, what was the worst that would happen? He gets stuck with a dickhead?

“Yeah. Can I be roomed with Levi Ackerman?”

Pixis raised his eyebrows at this, closing his eyes with a chuckle. “Hange must've put you up to this, hm? Very well.” He scribbled something on a sheet of paper that was in front of him. When he looked back to Eren he had an amused expression. Eren was starting to get the feeling that Hanje was playing some sort of joke on him.

“Oh! Uniforms!” Mr Pixis reached down under his desk and grabbed a plastic bag stuffed full of five uniforms- One for each day of the school week- And slid the bag over to Eren, who reached around and shoved them into his bag without much care.

“You’re dismissed, then. Your dorm number is 104.” Pixis slid him a paper and Eren took it hesitantly. It was his schedule, with ‘104’ written at the top in pen. Probably so he wouldn’t forget the dorm number. There was a key on top of it, and Eren took the paper into his hand and shoved the key in his pocket.

Eren stood, looking away from the paper and over to the principal. “Thank you, sir.” With that Eren turned around and headed out the door. He was surprised to see Hange gone, but he was pretty sure he knew where the dorms were anyways- he had seen only boys filing into the building left to the school and only girls heading into the one to the right. Didn’t take a genius to make an inference about the boy’s dorm whereabouts from that, so Eren made his way back out the building and walked into the boy’s dormitories. 

It was admittedly very nice inside. The main lobby was a large area that seemed to serve as a common lobby for all the boys; there were tables that each had a few armchairs around them. Some students were sat studying, others napping with their heads down on the tables. There were some vending machines pushed against the wall too.

Eren walked past the main lobby and began up the staircase aimlessly. 104 was probably on the second floor. Or something. Who knows. Luckily, it seemed like he was correct; walking down the tile hallway of the second floor he eventually found a door with ‘104’ printed above it on a sign.

He reached into his pockets and his hand closed around the key. Eren paused, taking a deep breath. Maybe his roommate was already inside. He needed to walk in there looking nice and composed, not like a lost puppy.

Eren finally slid the key into the lock after a moment. He opened the door hesitantly, opening his mouth to greet his roommate, but he found that he couldn’t speak as he stared at the dorm.

It was incredibly nice. The floor was fucking  _ laminate wood, _ for gods sake. A fancy dark brown that Eren almost felt guilty walking on. The walls were a gentle blue-gray and the paint  _ wasn’t  _ chipping off. It was bigger than his room back in Maria, and considering this was a bedroom in Sina, this shouldn’t have excited him as much as it did. There were two beds on either side of the room, each neatly made, and two large dressers pressed next to one another against the back wall between the beds. The beds were one of those fancy desk-beds. The ones that had a desk coming off the end of the bed. There was even a gray little twirly chair at each desk! The only real decoration, however, was a small white rug between the two beds. The room was plain, but it was still stunning in how  _ expensive _ it looked. There was also a door that, after Eren took a quick peek inside to confirm, led to a bathroom. A bathroom with a  _ walk in shower. _

It didn’t even look like anyone could possibly live here. The only sign of which side of the room was taken (and that the room was taken at all) was a neat stack of textbooks on the desk to the left and a little pencil holder. All mechanical pencils and a few pens, Eren noted.

The window caught his attention and his eyebrows raised as he caught a glimpse of the view. He could see the courtyard from here and some of the city, though the girl’s dorm and school covered most of that view. Students were still walking around in the courtyard, though considerably less than when he had arrived. It was getting late and the sky was darkening. Most kids would be doing homework or whatever Sina kids did outside of school hours right now.

The view was cool, Eren decided before turning around. He ran a hand over the soft blanket on his bed. This single bed was probably worth more than his and Armin’s entire room. How would Armin or Mikasa feel right now? Well, to start off, they’d probably already be unpacking instead of moping about getting accepted into a school in Sina. Right- That was a good place to start. Unpacking.

Eren slung his backpack from his shoulders and opened it, haphazardly dumping its contents onto the bed and throwing the empty bag to the side for now. He opened his dresser and his eyebrow furrowed as he pondered how to organize his stuff. There were two drawers- Easy peesy. Boxers in one, shirts and jeans in the other. Oh wait- Uniforms. Right. He glanced at the uniforms strewn across his bed. Plan two. Jeans, boxers and shirts in one drawer and uniforms in the other.

He grabbed his uniforms and threw them down in the bottom drawer, stuffing them all together with no rhyme or reason. Eren took a step back to admire his work. Okay, this was good! Now all he needed to do was get his shirts, jeans and-

“Who the fuck are you?”

Eren turned around, eyes widening as he found himself staring at who he assumed was his new roommate. He was short- Probably a few inches shorter than Eren- with jet-black hair that fell over the pale skin of his face gracefully. He had an undercut, Eren noticed. And his expression made Eren wonder if someone just popped a squat and shat in his coffee or something.

“Oh. Um. Eren. Eren Yeager.” 

The dark haired student- Levi, if Eren remembered correctly- Stared at him with a glare that made him think he  _ himself  _ was the one who shat in the guy’s coffee. His sharp gaze drifted to Eren’s bed. Eren blinked when his eyes narrowed. He didn’t know it was humanly possible for the shortie to look more disgusted than he already did while he was staring at Eren.

“You’re a fucking mess. What the hell are you doing here? Don’t tell me you intend to move in here?”

“What?” He asked dumbly, brain unable to catch up with what was happening right now. Was this guy mad? I mean, obviously, but why? Why was this happening?

“I said-” Levi strolled forward, leaning closer to Eren- “That you’re a fucking mess, brat.”

Eren didn’t respond, lips parting slightly as his brain raced to comprehend what was going on- And finally his brain did realize what the situation was. 

The  _ situation _ was that this guy was a  _ total fucking dick. _

__ Eren jerked backwards, eyebrows furrowing and irritation sparking up in his stomach. “Hey, what the hell’s your problem?” He stared down at the student with a glare.

Levi took a step forward and Eren’s breath hitched in his throat for a moment, partly because it startled him and partly because he was ready to swing a fucking punch at this shorty if he dared to do as much as  _ tap _ him- But luckily for the both of them, Levi took another step past Eren and towards his bed, leaving him to stare at the air infront of him for a few moments before whipping around to watch Levi.

The black-haired student picked up one of Eren’s shirts and held it up. “Do you see this,  _ Eren?” _

__ The way he said his name like it was some insult made him want to knock the bastard out, but instead he gritted his teeth.  _ For Mikasa and Armin. Don’t do it, for Mikasa and Armin.  _

“This-” He tossed the shirt to the ground as if it were some cheap little ball of paper- “Is a fucking  _ mess. _ Be a good boy and clean up your fucking messes.”

“Wha-” Eren stuttered incredulously. Was this man giving him  _ orders? _ “What the hell is your problem!?”

“My problem is that a shitty little brat who doesn’t seem to understand any concept of cleanliness is taking space in my room right now.”

Eren was speechless. He was used to dickheads, but usually they were dicks because he did something to him. This  _ fuckwad  _ was acting like he just killed his fucking family or something.

Levi walked forward, stopping when he was standing next to Eren, albeit facing the other direction. “Go downstairs and tell Pixis that you want a change of dorm, brat. This is my dorm, and everything done inside here will be done  _ my  _ way.”

“We’ll see about that,” Eren gritted out, voice harsh and challenging. 

“I suppose we will.” With that Levi left the room, the door slamming shut behind him; Eren was left to stare forward in disbelief. There were only three thoughts in his head when he laid down to sleep that night. 

One; Levi Ackerman was a total fucking dickhead. Two; He was going to kill Hange next time he saw her.

Three; He was going to show that little bastard who’s dorm this  _ really  _ was.


	2. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fuck that hurted. What the hell just happened? He was pretty sure he was seeing a few stars. Wait, was that a person under him? Holy shit. This was horrible. He already slammed someone to the floor on his first day, what the fuck. Okay, think. He needed to calm down.
> 
> Eren reached up to rub his eyes, vision blurry. He groaned, running his hand up through his hair as he looked down at the student below him. “Dude, I’m so fuckin’ sorry! I wasn’t paying attention, and-"
> 
> Eren's breath hitched in his throat as he realized who was currently below him. It was Levi fucking Akerman.
> 
> And he looked good as hell.

_Shit._

Eren rolled onto his back in his bed, yawning as he reached up and rubbed his eyes lazily. He felt way too well-rested right now for someone who was supposed to be waking up on a high school schedule. That could mean one of two things- The first one would be that this bed was just really, really comfy.

The second would be… His eyes slowly opened and locked onto the clock on his dresser.

_That he slept in._

The 7:30AM on his clock blinked innocently at him, and a groan of exasperation ripped from his throat as he flung his blanket to the side. Eren stumbled out of bed with a pitiful lack of grace, fumbling with the drawer of his dresser to snatch up his uniform. He shed his pajama shirt on his way to the bathroom and managed to pull his uniform shirt over his head before he was even in front of the mirror. Class started at 7:40AM and it was 7:34- _Fuck._

Eren was pretty sure he looked insane right now, brushing his teeth frantically with one hand and pulling his school pants up with the other. He mentally thanked God that his fuckwad of a roommate wasn’t here to see that as he ran a hand through his hair a few times to straighten it out. He was sure he’d get mocked to no end for this if Levi was here.

Textbooks and notebooks were haphazardly shoved into his backpack (which he currently wore backwards so he could get all his stuff in there) as he closed the door behind him. Eren zipped up and slung his backpack onto his shoulder, racing down the dorm stairs with a newfound urgency- He was pretty sure his life flashed before his eyes when his foot almost missed a step, but as long as he wasn’t late he could deal with that. His eyes caught on a clock that rested on the wall of the boy’s dorm common room as he ran. _7:37._

He narrowly missed slamming into another student when he skidded through the doorway of the school, racing up the stairs to where he had read his homeroom was. _Thank fucking god he had thought to locate it on a map yesterday._ His gaze snagged onto the door of his homeroom and he

Eren felt victorious as he stumbled into the classroom right as the bell rang, face a little red and his breathing heavy. _He did it. He fucking did it._ A few students glanced his way with either a snicker or dumbfounded expression but didn’t seem to pay much attention otherwise. Students chatted amongst themselves casually, a few studying and one or two students napping. It was... awfully casual, for what he assumed was supposed to be the start of class. Eren glanced around the classroom but spotted no teacher.

Had he come here early? No, the clock read 7:40AM. It was possible the teacher was just late, but that was unlikely. Was this the wrong class or something? Thoughts swirled in his head and Eren was only snapped back into reality when a hand patted his shoulder.

“Hey! What’re you doin’ standing there?!” Eren turned around to face a short boy with a buzzcut. He had an obnoxious shit-eating grin on his face, but he seemed friendly nonetheless. “You ran all the way to the classroom, and now you’re just gonna stand in the middle of it?!”

Eren cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah… Well, yeah. I guess.” He had hoped he hadn't been that noticeable in the crowds of students, but he had been running pretty fast.

The buzzcut guy laughed at this. He seemed like a cool dude. Not exactly a rich Sina prick, and not exactly someone from Eren’s area of Maria. Maybe he was from Rose. 

“C’mon, let’s go sit down. There’s a free seat by me! You’ll have to deal with Sasha, but she won’t be here til’ the second bell.” Eren’s gaze swept around the room. There were very few free seats around the class, and it was safe to assume quite a few of them were taken up by students who just hadn’t arrived yet. 

He decided to follow after the shorty, plopping down into the seat next to him. “What were you in such a rush over anyways, dude? You gotta be a track kid or something, with how fast you were goin’. I was surprised you didn’t run anyone over!” The student was rummaging through his bag as he spoke, taking out a textbook and setting it on his desk.

“I just didn’t want to be late to class!” Eren crossed his arms as if annoyed but smiled nonetheless.

“Well, you’re here on time then, aren’t you?”

“Well, I figured that class would…” Eren paused. “The bell just rang, so shouldn’t class be starting or something?”

“It’s just the first bell, y’know.”

“...First bell?” 

“Yeah- Y’know, there’s the first bell, right, so technically, it’s when you should be in the classroom. So you might’ve gotten your ass whooped if you were in someone else’s class or something, but Shadis doesn’t arrive til’ the second bell most of the time. Which is when we start class. So basically, before the second bell is homeroom. And the second bell is when the first class starts. Which is in your homeroom.”

Eren leaned back in his chair, sighing half in relief and half in exasperation that he had rushed for nothing. “So I _wasn’t_ going to be late on my first day. Awesome.”

“Oh, yeah! It _is_ your first day, isn’t it!? Well, welcome to New Paradise, dude! I’m Connie.”

“Eren,” he responded with a grin. This guy was nice. If most kids turned out to be as friendly, New Paradise wouldn’t be so bad. “You don’t seem like a Sina kid, y’know. I thought you guys would be a lot more…”

“Stuck up?” Connie finished the sentence for him. “Yeah, I’m here on CORPS. I guess you are too, but I kinda figured that. You don’t act like most Sina kids do. And you don’t look like one either.”

“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult,” Eren joked, closing his eyes as Connie laughed.

“I mean, some of these Sina kids are just real pricks, y’know?! Looking down on the CORPS kids and shit,” the shorter boy scoffed. 

“I haven’t really talked to any Sina kids yet. Except…” Memories of his interaction last night with his roommate made his blood begin to boil. God, that guy was just a goddamn prick. Getting all pissed about a little mess- And that mess had been on his _own_ side of the room, god fucking damn it. 

The shortstack acted like he owned the fucking world and Eren should be greatful that he allowed him to set foot on this planet in the first place. Like hell he’d let him think like that- Like hell he’d let him look down on Eren. Or maybe look up on Eren would be a better phrase, considering the guy’s height.

“Jeez, you look _pissed._ What the hell happened?”

_A short, annoying, rude as hell cleanfreak happened._

Eren sighed, rolling his eyes in annoyance at the thought of that dark-haired bastard. “Sorry. Was just thinking about some prick.” That guy- His roommate- was 100% from Sina. He reeked of the posh, stuck-up, and _arrogant_ attitude that he had been expecting of a rich kid from this city.

“I met one Sina kid. He’s an absolute asshole,” Eren grumbled. Connie shrugged.

“Yeah, that’s how a lot of em’ are pretty… annoying in New Paradise. But you don’t need to worry!” Connie assured him. “Most kids are fine! We got some nice ones here! Like, y’know-”

“Like me!” A cheery voice piped up- Eren turned around right as the girl plopped down at the seat in front of Connie, legs on either side of the back of the chair in a casual straddle. “Sasha Blouse!” 

Eren blinked, glancing between Connie and Sasha. Both had a stupidly genuine smile on their face, wide eyes, and an all-around warm demeanor. “Eren Yeager. First day here,” he piped up with a small smile.

“I know! I’ve never seen you around. Which makes sense, because you’re new here.” 

Connie snorted. “Way to state the obvious.”

Sasha continued on, ignoring Connie.. “Where ya’ from, Eren? Me and Connie are buddies. We’re from Rose.”

“Oh, that’s cool. Rose is pretty nice in most parts. I’m from-”

“I wouldn’t go as far to say we’re buddies,” Connie responded to Sasha, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Shut up,” Sasha grumbled. “You’re balding, by the way,” she said, flicking a finger towards Connie’s head.

“ _Balding?_ ” Connie’s voice went up a pitch. He patted his hair, casting a sharp glare to Sasha. “It’s a _buzzcut,_ Sasha.”

“Well it-”

“A goddamn buzzcut, you gluttonous pig!” Connie cut her off. “Don’t talk shit about my hair!”

Eren stayed silent, the edges of his mouth tugging upwards in amusement at their bickering. He rested his chin on his palm, elbow propped on the desk as he listened to them.

“You mean to tell me you _chose_ to look like that!?”

“We’ve had this talk before-!”  
  


“God, that’s such a horrible decision! You need to make better choices. You look like a thumb.”

“A _what?”_

“You look like a thumb!” Sasha repeated. Eren might be concerned as to what was going on if not for the grins on both of their faces as they bickered.

“A thumb? Do you want to fucking die?!”

“I could take you easy! Don’t overestimate yourself!”

“Overestimate myself? I’d _whoop_ your ass!”

“I don’t even know if you could reach my ass, midget!”

“Oh fuck _right_ off you fat-”

A sharp bang sounded from somewhere in the front of the room and Eren whipped around to face the teacher’s desk. The room fell quiet instantly. The man standing in the front of the room was fairly tall. He had a bald head and deep wrinkles under his eyes, a short brown beard coming from his chin- He had slammed a thick textbook into the desk under him, staring at the class with almost creepily wide eyes. “Quiet the hell down!” The man barked, and Eren could’ve swore there was a vein popping from his neck when he spoke.

He straightened in his chair, lips pressing together into a tight line as he tried his best to look like he was being good. Sitting up straight, not fiddling, staring at the teacher- These were all things Armin and Mikasa had advised him to do. He patted himself on the back mentally for remembering to do these things, the teacher’s gaze passing over him as if he didn’t exist.

“Listen up, pipsqueaks!” Eren was sure this man would rip off his head at the first little noise he made, so he stayed quiet. He was _not_ getting his neck snapped by his teacher on his first day, much less his first class. “I expect complete _silence,_ are we clear?”

The room was quiet, so Shadis took the liberty of repeating himself. “ _Are we clear?!”_ He shouted.

“Y-yes!” Eren near-shouted. He was relieved when the rest of the class called out their confirmations at the same time as him. God damn it would’ve been embarrassing if he had been the only one to speak up.

“Good!” Shadis shouted back, posture rigid. “We have a new student. Nobody cares, but we’ll have him introduce himself anyways.” Eren didn’t realize he was talking about him until a solid second later, when Shadis raised his voice with his glare pinned on Eren. “Stand up!”

Eren stood from his seat quickly, his brain lagging behind on what he was supposed to do.

“Are you just going to stand there!? Your name! Now!”

His name…? Right! His name! He could do that. “Eren!” He shouted, maybe a bit too loud to seem calm or casual. “I’m Eren Yeager!”

“Now sit the hell down!” He obeyed, nerves still calming after the sudden spotlight that had been shoved on him. A quick glance around the room confirmed that a few student’s gazes still lingered on him, but they eventually broke off and flicked back over to Shadis. Maybe he was just worrying too much.

“We’re starting class now, pipsqueaks. Homeroom is over!”

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

“Bell’s ringing in two minutes! Pack up, shitstains!” Shadis shouted.

Shadis taught English. Who would’ve guessed? Such a loud, harsh dude would be expected as a drill instructor or something, not a teacher who would recite flowery poetry for a living. The class was easy enough, anyways. Maybe it was just an easy day today, but he didn’t struggle in English. It was usually just a matter of whether or not he would do his work in that class- Which he did today, and which he would every day. He couldn’t afford to be expelled from New Paradise too.

Plus, it would be easier to bear English when it wasn’t Jean sitting next to him. He used to sit in the desk right next to him in his old high school in Maria- that bastard wouldn’t stop yapping _ever_. Eren knew Jean used to do that to annoy him. Horse-faced shit eater.

Eren shoved a textbook into his backpack and tossed his pencil in there too. He didn’t have his school-issued laptop yet, so he’d done his work on paper. God, he was horrible with computers. He had never had one in his entire life, so he was dreading getting his laptop and having to begin doing his work online. Though the idea of a free laptop wasn’t too bad at all.

He was at least relieved that his shitstain of a roommate wasn’t in his class. He really was a classic Sina prick- the epitome of one, dare he say. He couldn’t wipe that stupidly condescending expression from his mind. Hell, it wasn’t even like his face had been twisted into an ugly sneer or something- He just had a face that just _looked_ condescending. Annoyingly perfect, one might say.

Eren let his head drop onto his desk at the intrusive thought with a small bang, earning a concerned look from Sasha and a smack on the back of his head from Connie. “ _Hey_! Don’t go dying on us already, bastard!”

He sat back up in his seat with a groan. “ _Fine_. Only because you insist.” That earned a grin from Connie and a laugh from Sasha. Eren stood, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and digging his schedule from his pocket.

“Whatcha got next?” Sasha asked, peeking over his shoulder to glance at his classes.

“Biology.”

Connie perked up at this. “Fuckin’ awesome!” Connie snatched the paper from behind him before he could protest, Eren whipping around with an exasperated expression. “Just how many classes _do_ you have with us?”

The bell rang and students began jostling out of the classroom immediately, Eren trailing behind Connie as he read off Eren’s schedule. 

“English, Biology, Algebra, Lunch…”

“Give it back, asswad!”

“...Intensive Algebra, Civics, Study Hall!” Eren bounded forward and snatched the paper from Connie as he finished reading off the list. He walked in front of the two of them, scoffing before shoving his paper back into his pocket, now crumpled. 

“You have all the same classes as us, y’know! How’d you get accepted into CORPS if you have intensive math, though?”

Eren frowned, rolling his eyes. “Can’t I ask the same for you two?”

“Yeah, but we got accepted for sports! I’m a volleyball god, and Sasha hits a nasty home run. What about you?”

“I’m way better than Connie at school too,” Sasha pitched in.

“Uh…. Y’know, I have no idea. I got expelled from my high school, actually, and then got accepted here for some reason.” Eren said this nonchalantly with a shrug, but both Connie and Sasha both leaned forward in near sync with wide eyes as they walked out the classroom door.

“Huh!? For what!?”

“You look so innocent! What the hell did you do!?”

“It wasn’t really a big deal! For real!” Eren rolled his eyes at their excitement, but he was admittedly amused by the attention.

“Then spill it!” Sasha snapped.

“Alright, alright.” Eren glanced over his shoulder to face the two of them, continuing walking towards where he had read their Biology class was. “So, basically, there’s this guy, right? A real horse face. Ugly bastard. Annoying, too. And this dickwad dimwit had the fucking balls to-”

The air was knocked from Eren as he felt something solid slam against his chest, whipping his head forward not in time to stop himself from crashing down to the floor.

_Fuck that hurted._ What the hell just happened? He was pretty sure he was seeing a few stars. Wait, was that a person under him? Holy shit. This was horrible. He already slammed someone to the floor on his first day, what the fuck. Okay, think. He needed to calm down.

Eren reached up to rub his eyes, vision blurry. He groaned, running his hand up through his hair as he looked down at the student below him. “Dude, I’m so fuckin’ sorry! I wasn’t paying attention, and-”

His breath hitched in his throat as he realized who was currently below him. Eren’s hands and knees were on either side of the boy’s body. The student’s black hair was cast over his pale skin in a few loose strands, slightly disheveled. His eyes were a gunmetal gray, lashes swooping down over his eyes in a graceful curve.

It was Levi fucking Akerman. And he looked good as hell. Their faces were close, only inches away from one another, and Eren could feel Levi’s breath against his lips. His eyebrows were furrowed, lips slightly parted, and he was absolutely _certain_ that he looked five times better right now, laying on the dirty school floor after getting rammed to the ground by a clumsy second year, than Eren ever would in his entire life. 

“Oh, Um. Hey.” Eren offered. Everyone around them had stopped talking. He dared to rip his gaze away from Levi and glanced around the hallway. Predictably, students were staring at them. Huh. This... kinda sucked. He blinked, looking back to the boy under him just in time to see something reminiscent of a knee flying up to his chin.

Eren blinked. What? Why was he staring at the ceiling now? And why the fuck did it feel like someone just shot a baseball at his chin? He heard the distant sound of students howling in laughter and shouts. A blurry figure stood up, dusting his pants off before turning and stalking away. Hey. That was Levi, wasn’t it? Levi… Levi… Oh. It made sense.

Levi just fucking kneed him. In the chin. Like. Physically just slammed his knee into his chin. Yeah, that made sense. He could feel it. Yeah. It hurt. 

Eren didn’t bother getting up, resting on the school floor for a bit. Yeah, this was fine. He was vaguely aware of students beginning to drift away back to their classes. Sasha leaned over him, eyes wide. 

“Dude? You okay?!” She asked. It kinda sounded like she was speaking from underwater. Oh. No, that’s just how everything sounded to Eren right now. 

“My god. You just got beat the shit out of by Levi fuckin’ Ackerman. That’s insane! Are you good!?”

Yeah. Way to rub salt into the wound, Connie. He’d rather that Jean handed his ass to him than Mr. Shortstack.

“Just leave me here,” he mumbled. 

Sasha and Connie glanced between one another. “You… sure?”

Eren’s nonchalant nod was enough for them to pull away hesitantly. He stared up at the roof. Maybe, if he was lucky, the roof would cave and fall on top of him and he’d never have to face anyone ever about this incident. Ever.

Yeah. That’d be nice. Eren closed his eyes, sighing. He’d been punched and kicked before, for sure. But damn. That was one strong shortie. Hey, if he was lucky the roof would cave in on Levi. That’d be satisfying. Hey! Maybe he could even beat his ass. Yeah. That sounded nice. In a few minutes though. Or a few hours. Who knew the cold tile of the school floor could be so comforting? The bell rang in the distance. He was late. Cool.

“Hey! Kiddo~!”

The comfort would not last, it seemed.

“Fuck off.” Eren turned onto his side as if he were tossing in bed, and Hange erupted into a fit of laughter.

“I saw your ass getting whooped, kiddo!”

“Fuck off,” he repeated, this time in a small mumble. 

“Your face is red! That’s hilarious!” Hange grinned, nudging Eren with her foot. “Come on. Get up. Let’s go.”

“I hate you.” Eren rolled back onto his back, crossing his arms.

“Hate?” Hange laughed. God, she just found everything hysterical. So annoying. God damn it.

“You forced me into a room with that asshole. I hate him.”

“You mean Shortstack? Yeah, he’s kind of an asshole!” She said this with a bright smile on her face, as if talking about a close friend. “But he’s a big softy, y’know! Don’t let how he acts fool you!”

“Softy?” Eren scoffed, sitting up and ruffling a hand through his hair.

“Yeah!” Hange nodded, a stupid grin still on her face as she offered a hand to Eren. He accepted begrudgingly and the brunette hoisted him up to his feet.

“The type of softie that threatens you for trying to unpack your clothes and tries to kill you for falling on top of him?”

“Exactly! Listen, alright? He’s not that bad. You just gotta deal with the initial Levi and then he’s tolerable from there! He’s my best friend for a reason.”

Eren blinked slowly. “What?”

“Yeah, we’re super close friends! But he’d probably tell you that-'' Hange put on a grumpy expression and furrowed her eyebrows- “ ‘Hange will never leave me alone. She’s annoying and loud. And why are you asking anyways, brat?’ “ 

Eren scoffed at her rendition of Levi. “That’s inaccurate. He’d just try to kill me.” 

Hange laughed but didn’t respond, and Eren glanced over at her to see what was up. She had a crumpled paper in her hands and was straightening it out, holding it out in front of her.

“What the fuck? Is that my schedule!?” Eren strided forward and tried to bound forward to snatch it from her, but she easily dodged his attempt to steal it back. She was still focused on reading it, basically ignoring him for a brief moment. “Why the fuck is everyone stealing my schedule today? When did you even take it?!”

When the brunette was finished reading his class schedule she bowed dramatically and offered it back to Eren. “Here you are, sir!” He grabbed it from her with a roll of his eyes, and this made the brunette raise her eyebrows. “Hm… Are you normally so grumpy?”

Hange began walking and gestured for Eren to follow. He wasn’t sure where they were headed, but he trailed after her anyways. “I just got fucked up by a three foot demon, and he’s my also my fucking roommate! Because _you_ told me to room with him!” 

A hearty, loud laugh bubbled from Hange’s lips. “Sorry, Eren!”

“You’re not sorry at all,” he grumbled.

“You know you’re throwing a temper tantrum right now, right?”

Eren crossed his arms as they walked, not responding. He knew Hange was right, but alas. He was too far into it to back off now.

“It’s cute! Levi would find that adorable,” she cooed, and Eren nearly froze. Levi would find that- would find _him-_ adorable? He self-consciously touched his cheek, glaring at Hange when she glanced back over her shoulder with a sly grin. “Something the matter?”

_What did Levi think of him, anyways?_

“No. You’re just weird.” Any fluttering in his chest those words had caused disappeared quickly. What the fuck was up with that… that thought? His roommate obviously despised him. The guy was a huge asshole, and he’d pay money to see him get punched. Or trip. Or be mildly disconveinced in any given way. Jesus fuck he hated that guy.

Hange chuckled like she knew something he didn’t, a knowing glint in her eye. What the fuck? Did she think he _liked_ Levi or some shit? Or did Levi tell her something about Eren? No, the best conclusion was that Hange was being mischievous or something. Who knows. He wasn’t going to get himself in a twist over it. “Alright, get to class, kiddo! If it’s your first day you can just say you got lost, alright?”

Eren blinked. He had completely forgotten about classes. Hange gestured to a door. “Get goin’! I’ll see you later, but I have to get to my own class before Erwin gives me another lecture about the importance of education.” He had no idea who that was, but he just nodded.

“Uh… Alright. Cya.” He heard Hange walking away and didn’t bother to watch her, instead turning to stare at his classroom door. He could see through the small window on the door that class was in progress, so he was tentative when he stepped up and knocked on the classroom door. 

The teacher walked over to swing the door open with a displeased look on his face and Eren ducked into the classroom hoping he’d be able to slink past any questions the teacher might throw his way. He had no such luck. 

“And why are you so late, Mister…” The teacher trailed off, eyes narrowing as he released he had no knowledge of who this student was.

“Eren,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “And, uh. I got lost. It’s my first day.” Okay, that was a pretty solid excuse.

“And that bruise on your chin?” Eren blinked, hand drifting to his chin. Oh shit. He forgot to expect a bruise. 

God, he was going to murder Levi Ackerman, that pretentious bastard.

“Just an unfortunate encounter with a… pole,” Eren shrugged, and the teacher seemed to accept that as an answer. He heard knowing snickers from a few students. Just how many people had seen the whole thing with Levi? He could spot Sasha and Connie in the crowd, eyes wide. And a seat near them. Okay, nice.

“Go sit down. Don’t be late again.” He nodded his head and weaved through the desks as the teacher continued his lecture, finding his way to the seat in front of Connie and Sasha with a grin, the two of them flashing him a smile and giving him a thumbs up before shifting their attention back to the teacher.

Biology. It wasn’t his strong suit by any means at all. Why should he care? Unless understanding biology would let him shift into a badass fifteen meter giant or something, he really didn’t give a shit. Or at least he didn’t back when he had nothing at stake in his shithole high school in Maria. Now? Now Eren was taking notes almost obsessively in his notebook, his pencil not ceasing to move for more than a minute at a time. He was going to pass biology. And he was going to do it with at least a B. 

Hopefully. It would really suck if all that came from his time at New Sina was a bruise to the chin and a D in biology.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

As it turned out, New Sina’s classes were not extraordinarily different from his old classes. They were definitely better, of course, but for some reason Eren had been expecting something insanely difficult. There was no doubt that it was more challenging than his old high school and he was sure he’d be absolutely destroyed if he was thrown into honor classes, but it was just regular classes in a nicer building.

What would Mikasa and Armin be doing with this opportunity? He could imagine the glitter in Armin’s eye if he got to sit in one of these classes and how ecastic he’d be; He could imagine Mikasa’s awe at how huge the field was in the back of the school. He could imagine them thriving here. Why had it been him instead of them?

He pulled his backpack onto his shoulders, Sasha and Connie bickering again. The class was busy with students packing up; it was the last class of the day. In two minutes, he’d have finished his first day in New Paradise.

“Eren!” Sasha called, breaking away from her argument with Connie and heading his way. “I can’t believe Levi Ackerman beat you up! Did it hurt!?”

Eren blinked, not responding for a solid moment. This girl… might actually have a cashew or something for a brain. What’s worse was Connie staring at him with wide eyes, inquisitive and waiting for an answer.

“I got a knee slammed halfway up my jaw,” Eren grumbled, rubbing his bruised chin for emphasis.

“I can’t believe you just slammed straight into him! Why didn’t you hit him back?” Connie piped up.

“I…”

_His breath hitched in his throat as he realized who was currently below him. It was Levi fucking Akerman. And he looked good as hell. Their faces were close, only inches away from one another, and Eren could feel Levi’s breath against his lips. His eyebrows were furrowed, lips slightly parted, and he was absolutely certain that he looked five times better right now, laying on the dirty school floor after getting rammed to the ground by a clumsy second year, than Eren ever would in his entire life._

Eren coughed into his elbow, nearly choking in embarrassment as he recalled the reason he had froze. He didn’t know how these thoughts managed to weasel their way inside his head. Levi was such a piece of shit that he didn’t know how he could ever…

Could ever…

...Could ever what? Find him attractive? Levi was attractive, sure. Eren wasn’t _gay_ or anything, but he could tell when another dude was attractive. Just like he could tell when girls were attractive. He had never liked anyone, much less a dude, so there was no reason to assume he was gay. He was pretty sure, at least. And if he _was_ gay, it sure as hell wouldn’t be for Levi Ackerman.

“...I just got distracted,” he mumbled. God damn it he hated that stupid fucking dickhead so much. It wasn’t fair for those thoughts to linger in his head. “Uh, anyways. My chin hurts, so I’m going to head back to my dorm. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, though?”

Connie nodded, but Sasha seemed reluctant to give in. “Are you sure you can’t hang out with us for a bit?” Sasha whined. “We’re gonna go out for ice cream with a few friends.”

A ‘fine’ almost slipped out of Eren’s lips when he opened his mouth to speak, but instead he just gave them a reassuring grin and a shrug. “I’ll be fine, really. I’ll tag along next time though?” 

Sasha sighed but seemed to give in. “If you say so. Now I’m stuck with this bald thumb the whole time.”

Eren waved goodbye to them as he turned around to leave, but the two were already deep in their bickering by the time he was out the door. It was amusing- For all that they argued, Sasha and Connie were basically attached at the hip (at least from what he’d seen.) They were childhood friends or something, surely.

Childhood friends… God, what he’d give to have Armin and Mikasa at his side right now. Everything would be so much easier with them here. He missed them already, and it hadn’t even been his first day yet, goddamnit. 

_Stop sulking._ He needed to focus on what he needed to do now, not what he wished he could do. What, exactly, was he to do after school? Homework, eating dinner, sleeping… What else was he supposed to do? Oh. Right. He’d have to make it back to his dorm first.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

Eren had fumbled with the key for a good ten seconds before managing to unlock the door. He wasn’t exactly the most graceful in the world, apparently. 

As he walked into his dorm he realized he wasn’t the most intelligent either.

Maybe it was just the fact that he was already overwhelmed from his first day, but his roommate's existence had slipped his mind. Completely slipped his mind, in fact. He didn’t know how that managed to happen when the same roommate had fucked him up just a few hours earlier, but he wasn’t about to question it.

Levi was currently sitting at his desk doing what he presumed was homework on his laptop, not sparing him as much as a glance as he worked. He had the balls to bruise Eren’s fucking chin and then not even spare him a _glance?_

Eren glared at the back of the student’s head hoping that willpower alone would get him to turn around, but when that failed he slammed the door shut behind him and stalked over to his bed, tossing his backpack down onto it. 

He dug out his textbooks and tossed them onto his own desk. He’d study a bit. Yeah, that was it- He wasn’t doing it to piss off Levi at _all_ by being loud. He would never resort to such childish tactics.

Levi seemed to finally want to acknowledge his presence now, gaze still pinned onto his laptop. “Quiet down. I’m working, dipshit.”

“This is my dorm too. I can do whatever the hell I want.” The bastard kneed Eren in the chin. If he wanted to be a little loud, he would. Hell, he was lucky he was getting mildly disconveineced instead of decked in the face.

“Are you fucking five? I’m trying to focus.” His roommate didn’t bother looking away from his laptop, his voice low and silky as usual. Almost as if he wasn’t even arguing with Eren right now. He spoke with the excitement of a class slacker giving a presentation, and something about _that-_ his complete disregard for Eren- pissed him off more than his words did. 

“I’m sure you don’t need complete silence to do homework, do you?” Eren sat on his bed, staring at Levi with a sharp glare. His roommate didn’t return the favor, still staring forward at his computer.

“I’d prefer silence over your bratty voice threatening to make my ears bleed, yes.”

“ _Bratty_?”

“Did I stutter?”

Did he _stutter?_ Who the fuck did he think he was, some corporal? 

“You already tried to fucking kill me over tripping into you,” Eren snapped. “Why don’t you just come over here and make me shut up, bastard?” 

When Levi actually glanced his way he felt ripples of satisfaction course through him. Levi pushed off of his chair, and Eren didn’t budge as Levi stalked towards him.

He expected for him to try and yell at him, maybe even hit him; something that was loud and that Eren could respond to easily. He definitely _didn’t_ expect Levi to place his hands on either side of Eren on the bed and lean over him. 

Eren froze as his gaze locked with Levi’s, who in return met his stare with a cold glare. 

“Do you _want_ me to make you shut up?”

Did he- Did he _what?_ Anger flared up in Eren, temper sparking up as quickly as it had disappeared. His mind raced as he tried to scramble for something to snap back with. Levi spoke up again before he got the chance to. 

“Unless you want another bruise on that pretty face, you better quiet the fuck down.” 

There was no hesitation as Eren slammed his hands forward into Levi’s chest, the male shoved off of Eren abruptly. 

“I’ll do whatever the _fuck_ I want.” His eyes were lit with a certain fire to them as he stared at the fuckwad, standing up from the bed. Even though he was taller, it felt like Levi was the one looking down at _him,_ and god he hated that.

Levi’s glare met his with equal intensity, as if both were battling for dominance. He didn’t know how he was supposed to survive an entire year with this shithead of a roommate, but no way in hell would he let him have the satisfaction of driving Eren out. He was in this for the long run, like it or not.

Eren’s gaze broke away from Levi’s, turning away from him and snatching some pajamas to go change into from his dresser. He was vaguely aware of Levi having gone back to his laptop, but his mind was still thrumming with too much adrenaline to really care.

If Levi was going to make his dorm life hell, then Eren would have to return the favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 finished with 6k words! I kinda struggled on this one so I'm sorry if it's awkward in a lot of places. Hopefully it doesn't bother anyone too much!
> 
> Comments, kudos, bookmarks and subscriptions are basically like *food* to me when it comes to writing. I appreciate any interaction you have with my work, even if it's just reading it!! Feel free to drop any thoughts or questions in the comments!


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